Month: March 2019

For the amount of time Jeep spent trying to ensure the Gladiator was more than a Wrangler with a pickup bed, the Gladiator drives remarkably like a Wrangler with a pickup bed. If it weren’t for brief glimpses of the bed in the Gladiator’s mirrors, the experience is Wrangler-like in all the best ways. Like

PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are exploring a partnership that may involve sharing investments on electric cars, according to people familiar with the talks. PSA and FCA have been holding preliminary discussions to collaborate on a “super platform” — the basic underpinning of a car model — to reduce their investment costs in the

44 M BY MARK KANE In the case of acceleration, only the amount of sky cash you have is the limit. Tesla doesn’t make slow cars. The latest entry-level Tesla Model 3 is the slowest Tesla ever made, but it’s far from being slow. The Standard Range version can go 0-60 mph (96.5 km/h) in 5.6

Volkswagen’s SUV lineup has recently gained two more members: the compact T-Roc and the subcompact T-Cross. The latter, which shares most of its underpinnings with the Polo, is also the most affordable of the range. In the UK, it costs between £17,000 ($22,303/€19,844) and well over £23,500 ($30,832/€27,431). So, why would anyone pay that much

GOTHENBURG — Volvo will reveal the full-electric version of the XC40 before the end of the year, the company told Automotive News Europe at a safety event here last week. Officials declined to provide additional details. Adding a battery-powered version of the compact SUV to the lineup is a crucial step for Volvo, which wants

Roborace has plans to take humans out of the cockpit in a futuristic machine-versus-machine race series, but before that happens, it’s putting its Robocars in the hands of people—quite literally. That’s because the latest Robocar is a 1:64 scale model in the form of a Hot Wheels toy. Hot Wheels and Roborace announced the new

Government agencies have been known to get creative when it comes to advocating safety. While this normally involves shocking or entertaining videos, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) has gone in a different direction. As part of an effort to promote the use of helmets by cyclists, the BMVI has launched a

HWASEONG, South Korea — From their upstairs office in Hyundai’s sunlit design center, styling bosses Luc Donckerwolke and SangYup Lee can keep an eye on everything. Literally. The design duo peer through glass walls at people buzzing away in nearly every division, from advanced design and interior to exterior styling, and even into the airy

The 2020 Jeep Gladiator goes on sale later this year with a starting price of $35,040, the automaker announced today. Fuel economy numbers have also been revealed for the V-6, and they’re in line with other similarly equipped midsize trucks. The Gladiator has a much higher starting price than rivals, but it comes standard with

SAN JOSE, Calif. — In an era of self-driving vehicles, roadside assistance could transform into on-road assistance. Instead of asking OnStar for help, riders might instead press a button and ask a remote driver to control the vehicle through situations autonomous driving systems deem too complex to handle on their own. Sometimes, the vehicles themselves

By Dacia J. Ferris Posted on March 30, 2019 Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once again teased the coming arrival of the all-electric car maker’s very own brand of agave liquor, Teslaquila. A late Friday night Twitter comment and answer session by the business mogul led to a status update request on the branded liquor

Jeep is offering a Launch Edition of the Gladiator pickup with special cosmetic touches, but you’ll have to act quickly to get one. Pre-orders open for one day in April, and Jeep is only making 4,190 copies for the U.S. The 2020 Jeep Gladiator Launch Edition is based on the Rubicon, but it features unique 17-inch

Before a surgeon cracks open your chest, ask him his acceptable death rate for patients. When you climb aboard an airplane, ask the pilot her acceptable death rate for passengers. You’d think — and hope — their answers are “zero,” reflecting the overriding philosophy, paramount concern and commitment through which they make decisions that affect

The time has come to find out how the new Mercedes-AMG GT 63S 4-Door measures up against the ridiculously quick Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. The two competitors take different directions as far as powertrains are concerned, but the end result is surprisingly similar despite the obvious power advantage of the Porsche. That’s because the

DETROIT — With China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group now owning a controlling stake in Lotus Cars and investing in the brand, the UK company’s tiny but loyal global fan base has reason to cheer. Last year, Lotus recruited veteran Jaguar Land Rover executive Phil Popham as CEO. Since then, Popham, 53, has helped build a

Maserati knows a thing or two about designing a sexy car, but it’s never once built a wagon. So, one man himself did for a customer. Road & Track reported on this wonderful Maserati Quattroporte Shooting Brake, which comes from Adan Redding. The Britain native has spent his life restoring classic cars and is somewhat

With the 2020 Evoque, Land Rover revamps the best-selling vehicle that wears the Range Rover badge. Better in almost every way, the 2020 Evoque’s shaped more softly, rolls down the road more quietly, and navigates on and off-road more confidently, sometimes through a see-through set of camera-fied goggles. It’s a 6.4 out of 10 to

If you like having your coffee on the go, then Seat’s ‘Handpresso’ machine is the gadget to go for. We kid you not; the Spanish firm is offering the mobile espresso machine as an accessory at its UK dealerships. With a recommended retail price of £185 ($244/€217), the Handpresso is said to fit into the

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For the 2020 Gladiator, Jeep is following the same pricing mantra as it does for the Wrangler: Versatility comes with a cost. The Gladiator pickup’s base Sport model with the optional automatic transmission will start at $37,040, including shipping, putting it well above competing nameplates such as the Chevrolet Colorado and segment-leading

This week, rumors surfaced regarding the impending demise of Daimler’s city car brand, Smart. The recent buzz may have prompted Daimler to announce its actual plans for its ailing small car division. For the past few years, Daimler has been repositioning Smart to focus on electric vehicles, and a new partner has come in to

Dealer Ira Rosenberg, who started Ira Motor Group near Boston in 1975 and sold it 25 years later to public retailer Group 1 Automotive Inc., died Thursday from complications after a fall last month. He was 82. Rosenberg, who got his start in automotive retailing while changing tires at a Chevrolet dealership in Cambridge, Mass.,

Tesla is preparing its most important retrofit program to date and something completely new in the industry: updating hundreds of thousands of vehicles with a new computer to support fully self-driving capability. Now CEO Elon Musk clarifies Tesla’s plans. As we previously reported, Tesla is working on an important new product that it claims will

Kia just introduced a couple of SUV concepts at this year’s Seoul motor show; the larger one goes by the Mohave Masterpiece, while the much smaller one is called the ST Signature. The latter is the most significant, at least right now, because Kia may show the production version at next month’s New York auto

FRANKFURT — Daimler Trucks has agreed to buy a majority stake in self-driving truck software maker Torc Robotics as part of a broader push to develop autonomous vehicles. Torc, based in Blacksburg, Va., will help Daimler accelerate software development by giving the German manufacturer access to 120 skilled staff, Daimler Trucks CEO Martin Daum said.

19 M BY WADE MALONE This prototype vehicle is a close cousin to the Chevy Bolt EV. At the 2019 Miami International Boat Show, GM Marine unveiled their first electric pontoon boat. Called the Forward Marine First, the electric boat is based off of technology developed for the Chevy Bolt EV. Naturally, we at InsideEVs

The BMW M2 Competition is one genuinely attractive sports car in the sense that it has all the right ingredients along with a refreshingly compact footprint. The fact that the baby M comes with one of the most seductive stances on the market, thanks to its perfectly flared fenders, is really a bonus. In theory,

Ford confirmed it will end production of its C-Max minivan at its factory in Saarlouis, Germany, but said the plant will stay open with further investment in the Focus car that is also built there. Production of the C-Max and Grand C-Max will stop by the end of June, the automaker said on Friday in

Round two of the 2019 Formula 1 World Championship is the Bahrain Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. Located in the middle of a desert, the 3.36-mile Bahrain International Circuit presents several challenges, from the heat to the blowing sand and an offset schedule. Here, the race

With the new Sonata, Hyundai has returned to form. The 2020 Hyundai Sonata steps out of the current mid-size sedan’s anodyne shape and emerges this year with a racier spin to (possibly) recapture interest. The new sedan goes on sale this spring and will make its debut in North America at the 2019 New York

What happened to defensive driving, is anyone even aware of that notion anymore? We get it, drivers who cut others off are extremely annoying but is it worth the risk of getting into a potentially horrifying crash just to teach them a lesson? Unfortunately, some drivers would answer yes to this question and that says